Well the op does commute in the Mojave Desert, where the temperature is frequently quite hellish.

I have a short stretch of pretty much the same type of road mentioned in the op (less than a mile). I have been nearly run off the road several times by unsafe passers (usually one person passing another coming towards me, sometimes people heading the same direction as me trying to pass in the face of an oncoming vehicle in the other lane). All the other possible routes would be the same road design, and this is the shortest distance, so I just go as fast as I can and look out for the crazy people.

I am eventually planning on upgrading to an HID or very high powered LED headlight since I have to ride home on this road at night (no street lights). Once I get a super bright headlight I will probably use it during the day on the ride to work to increase my visibility to oncoming vehicles (I already wear a high-vis ANSI lime vest and that seems to work well).